‘Object, to Object, Objectified: An intimate conversation’
On February 25th, Gender*Language kicks off its new event series at De Nieuwe Liefde. Join in on Sunday for an intimate and interactive conversation with local queer icons — aka, ‘the speakers’ — Goran Kusić (she/her), Youssef Mahmoud (they/them), and Rex Collins (they/them) as they explore the contradictory dynamics of objectification. The talk is moderated by Gender*Language initiator Jan Janssenswillen (he/she/they) who will guide audience and speakers through several setups with different degrees of participation.
The nature of the conversation is open and personal. As such, the Gender*Language team will take special measures to ensure the privacy of all involved which will be communicated in more detail at the event.
About Gender*Language
Gender*Language is an archive of collective knowledge. A series of queer perspectives on the intersection of gender and language expressed through a variety of online and offline media.
Goran Kusić is a former professional performance artist and current New Media Researcher whose 2013 arrival in Amsterdam marked a long-lasting involvement with the city’s night culture. She’s obtained a BA in Media and Information, a Research Master in Media Studies, and is currently in the final stages of her Philosophy MA. Additionally, she works part-time as a Teaching Assistant at the Media Studies department of the University of Amsterdam.
Goran’s research intersects gender, media technologies, ethics, and aesthetics. She often addresses the construction of bodies and identities situated within matrices of compulsory heterosexuality, biological determinism, and capitalist Neo-liberal ideology of production and value. She attempts at critically engaging the ways in which media texts and practices produce specific types of bodies and realities — ones that are always grounded in the political. Next to her academic interests, she also binges trash television and has a penchant for buttery chardonnays.
Rex Collins is an Australian trans performance artist currently based in Amsterdam. Their artistic practice conceptually centres in-betweenness and intimacy through a critical queer/trans lens. Through movement, performance, and installation, they foster a space for encounters — spaces incorporating elements of drag, pop culture, and unconventional materials.
Rex’s work directs attention to often overlooked experiences of trans fantasy. It constitutes a meditation on the everyday dynamics of the body, their relationships, and broader social contexts. Rex’s recent works, ‘By the Grace of White Powder’ and ‘The Sweet Un-comfortability,’ offered narratives of queer/trans experience which were featured at Sexyland World Amsterdam (2022), Poing Rotterdam (2022), Parade Theater Festival Amsterdam (2023), and De Sloot Amsterdam (2023).
Youssef Mahmoud (they/them)
Youssef Mahmoud is a Cairo-born and Amsterdam-based multidisciplinary artist and Political Scientist graduate, specialising in Public Policy and Governance, from the University of Amsterdam and will be pursuing a MSc in Gender and Sexuality in Political Science this upcoming year.
Their professional research involves topics such as gender performativity, transgender healthcare policy issues and queer safety during military interventions. In addition to that, their artistic essence and performance combines elements of their background in musical theatre alongside clubkid-drag, dance, and punk while challenging elements of gender with their aesthetic. Having performed at major events such as Drift Festival, Boiler Room Amsterdam and Pornceptual, they aim at pushing the boundaries of identity, the body, sexuality and drag.
Jan is a queer non-binary designer whose practice centres queer- and gender identity, community, club culture, and (visual) language. In both his commercial and artistic work, she aims to provide a critical queer perspective by going beyond aesthetics and reflecting the meaning into, within, and through the design.
Apart from being the initiator of Gender*Language, Jan’s professional involvement within the cultural sector focuses on the field of visual communication but also consists of participation in the public debate as moderator or host. Next being a long-time part of the RADION marketing & communication team, freelance clients include State of Fashion, FIBER Festival, FLOOR HvA and R3LN4CHT.
Wil je graag een programma bijwonen, maar heb je niet de middelen om een kaartje te betalen? Mail dan naar info@denieuweliefde.com, we kunnen dan iets regelen.
